If you ask me, "Alias" was one the best action/adventure capers of
all time -- and way ahead of its time. Jennifer Garner, who brilliantly
portrayed scorned CIA agent Sydney Bristow, set the mold for today's female
butt-kickers.

"Covert Affairs," the USA Network's newest cops-and-robbers-style
skein, has been likened to "Alias" since it first went into production last
year. And why not? It does, after all, center on a heartbroken female CIA agent
(Piper Perabo) with a penchant for hand-to-hand combat.

But, while both series feature attractive female leads spying in
over-the-top outfits, with the backing of affable, tech-heavy handlers, they
are distinctly different shows.

In "Alias," Sydney was recruited to the CIA based on aptitude
tests, family ties and mythology. On "Covert Affairs," Perabo's Annie Walker
joins Camp Clandestine in search of a new challenge -- and a distraction from a
whirlwind romance gone awry.

And, whereas Sydney was a complete natural at the spy game, Annie
is very much learning the ropes.

Christopher Gorham, who portrays charming CIA analyst Auggie, said
that's "part of what makes Annie so likable ... is you can really route for her
because she doesn't have it all figured out."

"She's learning on the job and ... so you really get behind her
and want her to succeed, because you don't know for sure if she's going to," he
said in a phone interview.

SPOILER
ALERT

The "Covert Affairs" pilot begins with Annie recounting her lost
love, Ben Mercer (Eion Bailey), and the feelings she's still sorting out.

Barely into her CIA training, Annie is rushed into a real-world
situation. Because of her keen ear for languages -- not to mention good looks
-- she is called into duty to handle (babysit?) a foreign
assassin-turned-informant. When the situation turns deadly, Annie discovers
there's more to the case than she originally expected.

Auggie is a constant presence at Annie's side. Though blind, he
offers her an unmatched view into the life of a spy. Like Marshall on "Alias,"
Auggie has some nifty gadgets -- including a laser pointer.

Mercer appears to make a surprise drop in toward the end of the
episode. Annie isn't quite sure if it's really him, or just her mind playing
tricks. Unbeknownst to her, Mercer has a past with the CIA. Exactly what that
entails, we're not sure at this point. ... And neither is Perabo.

"I think I know less than I knew when we started. As I've seen
more of the Ben Mercer character, it's gotten muddier about whose side he's
on," she said. "So I think, somebody asked me the other day if we're going to
find out who he is by the end of this season, and even I don't know that. It's
definitely getting -- it's getting more complicated than less, with him."

END
OF SPOILER

Both "Alias" and "Covert Affairs" boast high-powered show runners.
The former came from J.J. Abrams ("Lost," "Star Trek"), while the latter is a
product of Doug Liman (the "Bourne" trilogy, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith") and Dave
Bartis ("The O.C.," "The Heist").

Each show, however, took a different path into our living rooms.

"Alias" was broadcast on Big Four network ABC, where ratings
dictated when and where it would be shown. "Covert Affairs" has the good
fortune of debuting on the USA Network, which has established itself as the No.
1 pay cable station thanks to creative programming (think "Monk," "Psych,"
"Burn Notice," "Royal Pains," "White Collar").

"I think the way that they run their network ... is really smart,"
Gorham said. "I mean, it starts with development, and they only develop a very
small group of shows and then they only shoot a couple pilots a year. Which is
why I think they've had such a high success rate, because they only really get
behind the stuff that they believe in.

"So, I mean for me, I think it's an incredible opportunity. I'm
really excited. And on top of that, the show's turning out great. So, yeah, we
have really high hopes."

Perabo, making her small screen debut, is pleasantly surprised
with the process.

"This is my first foray into a series, so I don't have a lot to
compare it to. But when I compare it with films that I've done, it feels of
equal caliber," she said. "It seems like every episode that we do is like a mini
movie, with the amount of stunts and cameras and shots that we're trying to
achieve. So in that way I think it's going to make for really exciting
television."

Disenchanted with film scripts coming her way, Perabo said, "When
this came across my desk, not only did it have the pedigree of Doug Liman, but
it was a character that I thought would be really fun to play. And even fun to
play, you know, episode after episode, and how it would evolve and change.

"And I talked with the boys a lot about how Annie would evolve.
But I even sort of like not knowing specifically where the story's going. You
know, when you make a film, you kind of know where you're going for the whole
arc of the story when you begin. But in this arc, I can't see the end yet.

"And so it makes for a whole different kind of work. And I didn't
expect that, and I'm really enjoying that about having, you know, started on
the series."

Much like the James Bond movies, "Covert Affairs" offers a stylish
team of agents capable of outsmarting their adversaries, always ready with a
quip, and unafraid to mix business with pleasure. Unlike James Bond, or Sydney
Bristow, however, Annie Walker is the closest we've come to seeing an actual
CIA agent at work.

"I went down to Langley for the day. (CIA agent) Valerie Plame
Wilson was our technical advisor on the pilot," Perabo said. "And so we have
connections down there. And so I spent the day down there and met agents who
are the same age as Chris and I, and talked with them about their lives and
what's going on. And you know, a lot of the things that we're drawing on from
the show are based in kind of the dirty details of reality."